Home visitation within the Home School Community Liaison Scheme in Ireland : strategies and best practices
Scully, Michael (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202505069286
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202505069286
Tiivistelmä
This study explores the role of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as a frame work for enhancing home visitation under Ireland’s Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) scheme. The primary objective is to assess how NVC principles of observations, feelings, needs and requests can improve communication between HSCL coordinators and families fostering trust, empathy, and more effective engagement.
A qualitative research design was employed, incorporating open-ended surveys of HSCL coordinators to capture their experiences transitioning into the role, the impact of leadership, barriers and supports in home visitation and their awareness and perception of NVC as a communication strategy. Additionally, reflective journalling was used to document the researcher’s own application of NVC in home visits, while family feedback interviews, pre and post implementation of NVC strategies, provided insights into how NVC influences perceptions of home visit effectiveness. Data was analysed using thematic analysis, identifying key patterns across participant experiences.
Findings suggest that NVC enhances clarity, trust and emotional safety in home visits reducing miscommunication and defensiveness. The researcher reported increased confidence in handling sensitive conversations, while families perceived greater understanding and responsiveness from coordinators using NVC strategies. However, challenges such as time constraints, training gaps, and cultural nuances were identified as potential barriers to full implementation.
Further research is required, on a broader scale, to explore longitudinal impacts of NVC training for HSCL coordinators, its role in cross cultural communication, and strategies for embedding NVC into HSCL policy and professional development frameworks. This study contributes to the growing discourse on effective, relationship-centred communication in education and underscores the potential of NVC in levelling power dynamics and strengthening home-school partnerships.
A qualitative research design was employed, incorporating open-ended surveys of HSCL coordinators to capture their experiences transitioning into the role, the impact of leadership, barriers and supports in home visitation and their awareness and perception of NVC as a communication strategy. Additionally, reflective journalling was used to document the researcher’s own application of NVC in home visits, while family feedback interviews, pre and post implementation of NVC strategies, provided insights into how NVC influences perceptions of home visit effectiveness. Data was analysed using thematic analysis, identifying key patterns across participant experiences.
Findings suggest that NVC enhances clarity, trust and emotional safety in home visits reducing miscommunication and defensiveness. The researcher reported increased confidence in handling sensitive conversations, while families perceived greater understanding and responsiveness from coordinators using NVC strategies. However, challenges such as time constraints, training gaps, and cultural nuances were identified as potential barriers to full implementation.
Further research is required, on a broader scale, to explore longitudinal impacts of NVC training for HSCL coordinators, its role in cross cultural communication, and strategies for embedding NVC into HSCL policy and professional development frameworks. This study contributes to the growing discourse on effective, relationship-centred communication in education and underscores the potential of NVC in levelling power dynamics and strengthening home-school partnerships.